One more bear issue. This time Swall Meadows residents raised the question about a bear marauding for food around their homes. One man called the Department of Fish and Game, who suggested documenting damage which could lead up to the destruction of the bear. Local bear expert, Steve Searles had other ideas.

Searles said he received 6 or 7 phone calls from Swall Meadows residents about the bears. Searles said it’s a tight-knit community and he got the impression they’re trying to work together to deal with the bear.

Searles said without any other way to go, he encouraged the residents to work together, keep trash put away and aggressively discourage him away from the houses. He said it seemed like all of the neighbors he talked to were trying the same methods.

Other Swall Meadows residents pointed to the fact that bears have long frequented their neighborhood. One woman said that the bears have possibly run out of food at higher elevations and have come in for fruit and berries. She pleaded with neighbors not to shoot the bear that has been out and about. She said the bear has 3 cubs who would then be motherless. “They’ll move on,” one neighbor said.

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